Rocky Mountain Brownie Cups with a hint of Kahlua

Oh yes! This is not just a rocky road, but a rocky mountain filled with bounteous chocolatey madness. You'll get a hint of Kahlua but, you won't be thinking of that when you dive into a triple chocolate wave.

I was on a chocolate high after eating one but, I couldn't get enough of it. I gobbled one as soon as it was out of the oven and inhaled another after taking photos. Hey, I can't let the poor brownie I cut into for pictures just rot away, can I?

These tasted even more delicious after a baking disaster. I was down in the dumps after a failed experiment with cupcakes. Cupcakes! I know. Who can go wrong with cupcakes? I was heartbroken that the very love of my life had let me down. Truth is, I was the one that screwed up. I tried playing around with flavors and it bit me in the rear end.

Lessons learned: 1) never EVER make frosting with ricotta cheese (I don't know what possessed me) 2) never try to right the mistake of using ricotta, with your aspirations of mixing unique flavors a la Cupcake Wars and 3) when all else fails, MAKE BROWNIES! What's even better? Make them like cupcakes if you're in love with cupcakes.

Bon Appetit!

Rocky Mountain Brownie Cups (adapted from Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies)
(Note: I made only a quarter of the original quantity in Ina's recipe and got 12 brownie cupcakes - regular sized not the mini ones)

Ingredients and instructions:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 ounces plus 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• A handful of pecans (I went easy on the quantity since I don't like a lot of nuts in my cakes/brownies)

For the topping:

• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup broken pretzel pieces
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cupcake liners in your cupcake pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat - mine got a bit fluffy because I mixed mine with an excited hand) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the Kahlua and mix gently. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into your cupcake moulds.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (bake for 20 minutes if you're using a sheet pan like regular brownies), then rap the cupcake tray against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. You know it's done if a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! 

Once your brownie cupcakes are out of the oven, change the setting to broil, preferably at low. 

Mix together your topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over all the cupcakes. Put it back in the oven for a minute or two till the marshmallows turn light brown. Watch it carefully because the marshmallows burn in a second. Mine nearly did in less than a minute when I set the broiler at high.

Turkey Meatloaf Pie with a simple Mushroom Sauce

Earlier this week, we had a freak day of snow. I mean that in every sense of the word. The day started out with flurries and got me all excited about the prospect of snow.

I'm in love with gazing out the window and soaking in the picture-perfect pretty white snow-topped trees and roofs. My eyes happily ignore the madness on the ground, where people have to slog over shoveling sidewalks or walk gingerly to avoid ski-ing down the road (I'm glad I haven't had the pleasure yet, but, being the klutz I am, I'm sure it's coming sooner than later) or leave the house an hour early to make up for snow traffic or crazies on the road.

We've had flurries before but they've never lasted this long. It started in the morning and lasted all day! Yes, so I was hopeful that days of snow were here again. And Voila, by late afternoon, the ground started turning white and the tree and roof tops too. I was ecstatic. Well, at least till next morning, when the sun decided it wasn't time to give me a good snowy landscape yet.

Though it's been sunny here and there ever since, winter is definitely here and it is time for nice, comforting, meaty meals. That's when I thought of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. What's even better? I put everything together and made a meatloaf pie so it was just one dish of goodness. Yumm! I'm a sucker for simple, easy to make meals. You top it off with some sauteed mushrooms or a sauce and you're set with a dinner that you can curl up to on the couch (yes, we break rules by eating dinner on the couch but it's so much more cosy!). Bon Appetit!

Turkey Meatloaf Pie (adapted from one of my favorite cooks, Ina Garten)

Ingredients and instructions:

Seasoning sauce

• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 small onion, chopped 
• 1/2 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 
• 4-5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste

For the meat

• 1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup ketchup

For the mashed potatoes topping

• 1 large russet potato (or 2 small/medium)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt to season
• Handful of mozzarella or cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a pie dish. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours (if its a meatloaf, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F - I'm not sure how this guage works for the pie because it isn't a big chunk like the loaf). 

While the meatloaf base is baking, boil and mash your potato. Add the milk, garlic powder and salt. Mix well till you get a nice, creamy texture. You can adjust the amount of milk accordingly.

Just 5 minutes before the meatloaf base is done, take it out, spread the mashed potatoes on top, sprinkle with cheese and send it back to the oven. Once it's done, slice, pour mushroom sauce over it and enjoy!

Simple Mushroom Sauce (serves 2)

• 10-12 baby bella mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup of any dry white wine from your stash (use red if you're using beef broth)
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cornflour mixed with a little water
• Sprinkling of dried parsley

Saute the mushrooms in butter. Once it's softened, add the white wine and let it cook for a minute or two. Add the chicken broth and simmer for a few minutes. Slowly pour in the cornflour mix and stir till the sauce thickens, a couple of minutes. If your sauce is till too watery, add more cornflour mixed with water. I added more cornflour and it got a bit thick but, I was too lazy to thin it out with more broth.

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken

It's 2012 and I can't believe how fast 2011 flew. That's because I was having the time of my life and as they alway say, time flies when you're having fun. So true! 

2011 was full of adventures - traveling to different places, eating different types of food, experimenting in the kitchen with new dishes. Ever since I started this blog, I've noticed that I have this urge to dig out recipes I would never have tried under normal circumstances. Looking back, I am very pleased with the variety of dishes I've tried and added to my recipe book - though this is more virtual than physical at the moment and I'm hoping I can finally get it organized into a nice recipe folder this year. Hey, I think I found a resolution! Do you have any?

Last December (wow, saying that makes it feel like it was ages ago, though it was only a week back), I had this crazy craving for Thai Basil Chicken and rice. The type I used to go ga-ga over in Singapore. It was one of the number of dishes that I counted under my 'comfort food' category and it would never fail to satisfy me, no matter where I ate it. So, I wanted to find the best recipe that came close to the way the Singaporean cooks make it. 

The first recipe I tried from Thai Food & Travel was delicious but it didn't quench my craving since it wasn't as close to the ones from Singapore. So, I hunt again and found a recipe here that was apparently adapted from the cookbook, Simply Thai Cooking. It was the closest I could get to what I wanted and I was an extremely happy camper after that. The flavor basil adds to the chicken is just divine. So, this is the recipe I'm sticking to until someone can share one that's exactly like the Singaporean ones. Bon Appetit!

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken (Apparently adapted from Simply Thai Cooking - the cookbook)

Ingredients and instructions:

• 1 onion , sliced
• 1/2 green/red bell pepper , sliced
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 12-15 thai green chillies (add more for spiciness that will kill and reduce if you aren't tolerant towards spice)
• 1/2 cup shredded basil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sesame/peanut oil , for stir-fying

Sauce 1

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Sauce 2

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 5 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon chili paste

Sauce 3

• 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water

Heat oil in wok. Stir-fry onions and peppers. Remove and keep warm.

Add another tablespoon of oil to wok if needed and heat in wok on high. Saute garlic for a few seconds. Add chicken and chillies and stir-fry until chicken is done. Add sauces in order, stirring between each addition to coat. Add cooked vegetables back and stir to coat.

Add basil, stirring just unti hot-crisp, and beginning to wilt. Serve immediately. This goes best with a fried egg, rice and a side of cucumbers to cool off the spicy chicken.